Microsoft Word - RecklessBounty

by test

  “Yes, and then the shit hits the fan. Have you even considered what you are going to do once we get Tyler out of the Sheriff’s custody?”

  “We run for it, and try to prove his innocence,” Samantha answered, speaking as if Johanna was a complete and utter idiot.

  “That was what I was afraid of. Tell me one thing though, what happens when a team, and they shall remain unnamed, say a duo of bounty hunters, break out a so-called criminal and then run with him?”

  “They get a bounty on their heads also?” Samantha gave her an innocent look.

  Johanna gripped the steering wheel even tighter.

  “Yup, that was just what I thought. We are so royally screwed.”

  “Yes, dearest, but we are royally screwed together. You could sort of say it’s a family affair.” Samantha chuckled.

  “I hate it when you make light out of a serious situation,” Johanna grumbled. “Samantha, we have so many enemies among the space faring community. Bounty hunters, mobsters, serial killers, terrorists, petty criminals, you name it, and they will be out for our blood!”

  “I know.” Samantha sighed. “What other choice do we have? I won’t let Tyler get hanged by Lord Devlin, and you know that Dylan won’t be happy if we come back empty handed so to speak. Don’t worry, Johanna, it will all turn out the way it’s supposed to turn out. We’ll clear Tyler’s name and we’ll all live happily ever after.”

  “Yeah, but for how long? Just never mind I ever questioned rescuing Tyler. I guess the family that runs together stays together.”

  Aggie automatically opened the door for Samantha. “Oh, and one more thing,” Johanna began. Sighing, Samantha tilted her head back toward Johanna.

  “Yes,” she drawled out, expectation ringing through her voice.

  “BE CAREFUL!!! ” Johanna nearly shouted, staring at Samantha as if her cognac eyes were going to pop right out of her head.

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  “Aren’t I always?” Samantha asked sweetly, easily jumping out of the hovering car, and landing like a cat on the sidewalk below. Samantha took a few steps away from the hover car, and then turned back. She couldn’t resist teasing Johanna. It was way too much fun. Opening their communication link, she smiled. “Just make sure that you’re ready, for when I make everything go KA-BOOM!!! ”

  “One more white hair, that’s what she’s going to give me, and then another, and another,” Johanna rambled, pulling the car up higher. She went to a secure communication frequency and waited.

  * * * *

  Samantha slid up against the wall of the building, and pulled out her grappling hook.

  Though she had considered walking through the front door, she knew that she was far too recognizable to take such an asinine chance. Instead, she was going to drop down from above, catch everyone off guard, and then easily cart her husband’s blasted hide out of his jail cell.

  She quickly scanned the structure for any kind of security force field. Damn, the Sheriff here sure was a cocky bastard. Obviously, he didn’t think that anyone had enough balls to break into a heavily guarded jail. But it was abundantly clear he’d never anticipated someone as daring or stealthy as she.

  Discharging her grappling hook, she waited as it securely locked itself to the top of the roof. To make absolutely sure she wouldn’t find herself landing on her ass anytime soon, she tugged on the line three times. Finally satisfied that everything was good to go, she began steadily climbing the wall. The day was unusually hot. She climbed quickly. “Veronica I am going to make you rue the day you ever gunned for my husband!”

  Grunting, she reached the ledge of the roof, and pulled herself up top. She quickly brushed the dirt off of herself. Grinning, she softly whistled her favorite tune. The people of New Monaco were so stupid they hadn’t even noticed her climbing the building in broad daylight. Of course, New Monaco was known for its hectic nightlife scene so everyone was more than likely still asleep.

  Samantha scanned the rooftop searching for the entrance to the inner building. She let out a triumphant hoot, as she spotted it, and pulled the hatch open eagerly. Samantha listened intently. Finally, she heard the jailor talking to the prisoners. Her ears perked up even further when she heard the constipated voice of Veronica Hutchins.

  She easily climbed down the ladder, and landed near the men’s toilet. Hearing the voices receding into the distance, she urgently searched the narrow cells for Tyler. She saw him at last, sprawled out on his dinky little cot. The air in the jail was disturbingly stale. It almost made her want to gag.

  “Tyler,” she whispered beneath her breath, watching the door to make sure they didn’t get any visitors.

  Samantha expected to see security surveillance and had come prepared for trouble, and yet there didn’t seem to be any evidence of such security precautions.

  The grey lump on the bed twitched. She sighed.

  “Tyler, get your lazy arse over here!” she whispered again, wincing when her voice came out an octave higher than what she’d wanted.

  He moved again, finally bolting upright in bed. “Samantha? ” he asked in disbelief. He threw the wool blanket off of his body and jumped to his feet.

  “Well, who the hell do you think it is, your fairy godmother? ” she retorted curtly.

  Narrowing her eyes, she began to manipulate the metal bars.

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  She was using yet another one of Dylan’s inventions and she prayed that it would burn a hole through the cell bars as quietly as possible. Dylan had assured her time and again that the device would be whisper quiet, but with Dylan one never knew until the device had actually been put to the test. She didn’t have enough fingers to keep track of all of her misadventures with his gadgets. But when they did work, they worked like a bloody charm.

  “You came for me!” Again stunned disbelief rang through his voice.

  She really didn’t care for his tone. Did he honestly think she of all people would leave him to swing in the gallows? Didn’t he remember that she was his wife? Estranged maybe, but they were still united in holy matrimony. Heartburn raged in her chest, when she met his glittering green eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she focused on the adorable gold flecks that danced in his orbs. Here she was losing her head when she needed it the most. She had to gain control. Sure, Tyler made her want to melt onto the floor. But she had to show control. Master and commandeer it. They still weren’t in the clear yet. She had to keep it together long enough to get them both out.

  “Of course I came for you, who do you think I am, the wicked witch of the Rim?” She closed her eyes and sighed. It really hurt her to think that he had lost faith in her. She had done a lot of questionable things in her past, but she never let her loved ones down. Especially, when they were in a pinch. And when Tyler got into a pinch it turned out to be a monster sized one.

  She grinned as the bars sizzled and melted away. “This latest invention of Dylan’s is definitely a keeper!” she exclaimed. Tyler reached through the bars and briefly settled his hand across hers. He squeezed it gently, and gave her one of his heart stopping smiles.

  “This means more to me than you will ever know,” Tyler whispered.

  Just then, the criminal in the next cell over roused from his slumber. Samantha bit on her lip. She couldn’t show her emotions to him. If she did, she’d lose control and they’d both end up behind bars.

  “Oh,

  hell,” Samantha growled, darting her gaze toward the rough looking man. The prisoner belched, and then farted loudly. “We have to move fast, like I always say, we’re going to have to move it or lose it.” She smiled. Their eyes connected for the briefest of moments. In that moment it all came rushing back to her. Their love still sizzled between them. Come what may in her life, there would only be one man for her. And she was staring right at him.

  Heartburn continued to rage in her chest and she swallowed thickly. This was getting too complicated for her tastes. God help her, sh
e still loved him. Loved him so much, it bloody well hurt!

  Samantha had known that for a while now. Known that when she saw him, she would lose herself completely. But she had to be strong, and she had to teach him, that a man didn’t just simply walk out on her. Especially, when she loved that man!

  “Come on,” she said, reaching for his hand. She pulled him out into the hallway, and sniffed as something that smelt remarkably like garbage wafted toward her. “Johanna,” she murmured, “Be waiting for us above the roof. Drop down a rope ladder so that we’ll be able to make a discreet getaway.”

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen. Discreet isn’t exactly your middle name,” Johanna muttered back. The screech of Aggies’s engines rang out over the communication channel as she maneuvered Aggie into the specified location.

  “Johanna is her same old sweet self, I hear,” Tyler remarked, sarcasm dripping through his tone.

  Samantha’s jaw dropped. A loud whining noise hit her eardrums, and then the door to the RECKLESS BOUNTY Marly Mathews 41

  office area burst open.

  “SHIT! ” Tyler and Samantha both said in unison.

  Veronica Hutchins stared at Samantha in wide-eyed amazement. Shock turned to determination. She pushed the Sheriff’s men aside, and pushed up her sleeves. The determined glint that had entered her eyes seconds before, intensified tenfold.

  “Leave this little bitch to me!” Veronica commanded. Murmuring inaudible grunts, they obediently fell back.

  Samantha groaned and elbowed Tyler in the ribs.

  “Stop standing around like you’re a brainless twit. Go and climb up onto the roof, and get into Aggie. I’ll be up shortly,” she promised, between clenched teeth.

  “I’m not leaving you with Veronica. She just called you a bitch,” Tyler pointed out, staring down at Samantha resolutely.

  “Men,” Samantha huffed, glaring up at him. “I didn’t save your sorry ass only to find it stuck behind bars again. You either get up there, or I’ll never speak to you again!” She prayed that he would just listen to her, instead of making her day even more complicated than it already had become.

  She really didn’t need all of this fuss and bother. Whatever happened to the nice simple day, filled with no obstacles, and no ball busting women that were in dire need of a good ass kicking! Ah, to have one of those blissful days! She fell into a fighting stance. She heard Tyler, shoot down the hall, and wondered at the sound of his uneven gait.

  “So Big V, we meet again,” Samantha remarked dryly, studiously noting every weak spot on the woman’s anatomy. It was going to be bloody difficult bringing her down in hand-to-hand combat. She had been there done that, and she hadn’t been particularly crazy about the outcome.

  She had emerged barely victorious, and she’d been sore for months afterward.

  “Greetings

  Sammy,” Veronica snarled, quickly reaching for her stun gun.

  “Ah, do you know the saying fool me once shame on me, fool me twice shame on you?”

  Samantha asked, reaching for a small metal ball that hung on her belt. “Well, I’ve learned just what it means since we last met, and in a few minutes, you are going to get a taste of your own medicine. My compliments Big V!” She saluted Veronica, and then threw down the large stun grenade.

  With only seconds to spare, she turned and bolted toward the escape hatch and climbed it as if her ass was on fire. She emerged breathless onto the roof, and searched the sky for Aggie.

  “Bloody wonderful!” she gasped, pushing her hair out of her eyes. The winds had picked up…and the sky looked stormy. Johanna’s voice crackled across the communication channel.

  “Hold on to your horses. I’m coming back for you. I had to deal with a minor distraction!” Johanna cried out, screaming as someone fired at her. “Eat this butt head,” Johanna screamed out. Laser shots fired across the early morning sky.

  Samantha watched the mini battle in the sky, and then screamed out in frustration when the wind was knocked out of her. She was face down on the cement, and Veronica straddled her.

  “Get off of me you crazy assed bitch!” Samantha yelled. Adrenaline pumped through her.

  She pushed with all of her might, and threw Veronica off balance. She went careening through the air, and landed on her ass.

  Veronica shot a furious gaze at her. “Holy crap that hurt. I felt like I had a hippo straddling me!” She so didn’t need this bitch to get in her way. Blood trickled down the side of her cheek.

  “You just called me a hippo! I am going to make you pay for that comment, bitch!”

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  “Yeah, well, get over it. Now you’ve really pissed me off,” she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aggie come racing toward her.

  Perfect timing, as usual. Samantha bolted to her feet. Veronica came lunging at her again. They struggled for a few moments, as hand and foot strikes blurred.

  For every strike Veronica served Samantha with, Samantha deflected it, and Veronica reacted in the same way. Samantha finally managed to flip the much larger woman over her shoulder.

  She ran for Aggie, and the lowered ladder, and jumped onto it. At the same exact moment, Veronica propelled herself to her feet and pursued her.

  Veronica was hot on her trail, and Samantha tried desperately to make it up the ladder, before Veronica could reach it, but the woman pulled off a daredevil stunt, and lunged at the ladder. Veronica grasped the lowest rail, and hung on for all she was worth.

  “You know, one of these days. Just one of these days, the powers that be are going to take pity on me and cut me some slack!” Samantha cried, just as Veronica grabbed onto her ankle.

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  Chapter Five

  The harsh wind blasted against Samantha. She sputtered, and tried to spit out the dirt that had flown into her mouth. She tried to squint her eyes against the blaring sun, and grunted, when she felt Veronica pulling on her leg. Some more dirt clustered in her eyes, and she let out a mental scream against the pain.

  “Stop pulling on my leg. What are you a freaking lunatic? If you haven’t noticed butt head, we are hanging out of a bloody hover car and if you keep on tugging on me, we’ll both plummet to our not so pretty deaths. I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly want to be scraped off of the sidewalk!” Samantha stared up into Tyler’s anxious eyes. He leaned toward her.

  “Take my hand!” he urged.

  Thankfully, Veronica abruptly ended her tug of war. Proving her wrong again. She had believed that Veronica was a brainless nitwit.

  “Hey, Big V, why don’t we agree to a truce, and then after we are out of this shit your pants situation, we can agree to disagree. Deal?” Samantha asked, dreading the answer.

  She knew Veronica was as tough as nails, but she highly doubted that even Veronica wanted to take a dive on the wild side.

  “Deal,” Veronica agreed. Her grip slackened ever so slightly on Samantha’s ankle.

  Samantha blew out a gust of relieved air. Veronica released her ankle. She breathed deeply and began climbing, as Veronica followed her.

  Clambering the rest of the way up she gratefully accepted Tyler’s assistance as he pulled her into the hover car. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, when Johanna had to make an evasive maneuver.

  The car rolled to one side. “What the hell are you doing up there? Trying to shake me off?” Veronica screamed. Ashen faced, Samantha peeked over the side of the car and found to her relief that Veronica was still perilously hanging on. Though by the looks of things, she knew Veronica wouldn’t last much longer. Wincing against the reawakened pain in her arm, she reached for her, even as she gritted her teeth against the pain.

  “Let me, Samantha. I know that you don’t need a man to do anything for you but I think that Johanna could use an extra pair of hands. Besides, Big V weighs a lot more than you, and I’ll probably be able to pull her up. If you accidentally let go of her, you’d ne
ver forgive yourself!” Tyler did have a point. Sometimes his perceptiveness caught her off guard.

  “Would someone get me the hell off this damn ladder? Stop acting like bumbling nitwits and give me a fucking hand!” Veronica shouted.

  Tyler and Samantha cringed in unison. “She really does have a grating voice, you know that?” Tyler muttered.

  “Be my guest, lover boy,” Samantha invited. Even though she was secretly relieved at his offer, she’d never let him see it.

  She sank into the passenger seat. Sighing, she brought up the weapons schematics on the miniature computer. “Haven’t we lost them yet?” Samantha arched an eyebrow at the loud snort Johanna let out.

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  “Easier said than done, I’m afraid!” Samantha stole a glance at Johanna out of the corner of her eye. Johanna’s face was a violent red.